1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic communication protocol test system with a message/sequence edit function for monitoring a communication protocol over a network, creating/editing a scenario for test from collected message information and message operation flow (hereinafter referred to as sequence) information, and performing a communication protocol test as an opposite facility to a facility under test in a communication system in general, and to a test method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Protocols in communication, called communication rules, transmission control procedures or the like, refer to electrical and signal conditions or the like when information is transmitted and received between systems. At present, various protocols have been proposed. If protocols are not correctly implemented in transmitting and receiving information between systems, normal communication services are not ensured. Particularly, in recent years, since communication services provided through communication are more sophisticated and more complicated with an increased variety of parties to be communicated, it becomes difficult to check whether communication protocols are correctly implemented to provide normal services.
Therefore, increasing importance is placed on a protocol test or protocol conformance test for checking whether a communication system correctly implements a protocol such that it can obtain expected communication services with interconnection to another communication system.
Protocol tests, in a broader sense, include protocol validity test for determining whether definitions between systems have no contradiction and intended services can be provided, and in a narrow sense, include a conformance test to specifications for determining whether a protocol is correctly achieved from definition to implementation.
Conventionally, in a protocol test verification system of this kind, message sequences/message data have been manually created. For this reason, as the number of tests is increased including an illegal test or the like, it takes a large number of man-hours to create message sequences/message data.
A prior art communication protocol conformance test apparatuses is described in JP-A-7-245641.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a prior art protocol conformance test apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art comprises test scenario creating unit 150, test executing unit 160, test result analyzing unit 170, input unit 180, and display unit 190.
Test scenario creating unit 150 includes test sequence editor 151 for describing a test sequence which is the order of test events, i.e. inputs and responses, PDU editor 152 for specifying a test event in a test sequence to set parameters for Nth layer (N)-PDU (Protocol Data Unit), and ASP editor 153 for specifying a test event in a test sequence to set parameters for lower level (N+1)-ASP (Abstract Service Primitive). Test result analyzing unit 170 includes test result sequence analyzer 171 for analyzing mainly a sequence of events out of test results, PDU analyzer 172 for analyzing parameter values for PDU of a test event received at the execution of a test, and ASP analyzer 173 for analyzing parameters for ASP of a test event received at the execution of a test. Three tools of test sequence editor 151, PSU editor 152 and ASP editor 153 are used to create a scenario for use in a conformance test of an OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model.
The operation of the conventional communication protocol conformance test apparatus will be described in brief.
Test scenario creating unit 150 creates a test sequence and test scenario for testing a protocol for a system which implements an arbitrary Nth layer in an OSI reference model. Test executing unit 160 performs a test of a system under test on the basis of the created test scenario. After the test is completed, the test result is sent to test result analyzing unit 170 which analyzes the test result by comparing it with the test scenario, and stores the test result in a file.
The aforementioned apparatus described in the JP-A-7-245641 creates message sequences/message data with manual inputs. This requires enormous amounts of time to create message sequences/message data as the number of tests is increased including an illegal test or the like. Additionally, the apparatus has a problem that the manual inputs for creating message sequences/message data naturally lead to an increase in erroneous inputs, resulting in inability to execute a test.
A yet further problem is that since an apparatus under test is limited to one employing a protocol for a network layer or upper layers in an OSI reference model, there is no expecting a comprehensive test of a communication protocol for a network possibly appearing in the future, to say nothing of existing various networks.
The present invention is made in view of the aforementioned problems inherent in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic communication protocol test system with a message/sequence edit function capable of automatically creating and editing a test scenario to facilitate creation of a test scenario and test message for allowing a comprehensive test of a network, and to provide a test method using the same.
According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic communication protocol test system having a message/sequence edit function for executing a communication protocol test by monitoring a communication protocol over a network and creating/editing a test scenario for testing the communication protocol from collected information on the communication protocol in a communication system, comprising an interface operating similarly to an existing communication network, a line monitoring function unit for collecting message information and sequence information from the existing communication network, a data analyzing function unit for converting the information collected at the line monitoring function unit into significant information defined for each communication protocol to analyze detailed information on the communication protocol, a scenario creating function unit for creating/editing a test scenario and a test message with the detailed information obtained by the data analyzing function unit, a data converting function unit for converting the data from the scenario creating function unit, a test message input/output function unit for executing a communication protocol test in accordance with a sequence of the test scenario obtained from the scenario creating function unit, an edit searching function unit for accessing the scenario creating function unit, acquiring a scenario to be edited with a search keyword, and editing information acquired at the scenario creating function unit, and a log buffer for accumulating log information collected during the communication protocol test.
The scenario creating function unit may include a sequence information buffer for storing sequence information analyzed at the data analyzing function unit, a message information buffer for storing message information, a scenario buffer for storing a test scenario created and edited from the sequence information and the message information stored in the sequence information buffer and the message information buffer, and a message buffer for storing a test message.
The test message input/output function unit may perform transmission and reception of a message to and from a facility under test in accordance with description of the test scenario created and edited at the scenario creating function unit to execute a communication protocol test.
The data analyzing function unit may allow a tester to arbitrarily set analysis contents and analysis items from the information provided by the line monitoring function unit.
The data analyzing function unit may extract and analyze synchronous data and asynchronous data required for transmitting and receiving data between communication facilities out of the information provided by the line monitoring function unit.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of test using the aforementioned automatic communication protocol test system having a message/sequence edit function, comprising the steps of monitoring a communication protocol over a network, and creating/editing a test scenario for testing the communication protocol from collected information on the communication protocol to execute a communication protocol test.
With a configuration described above, while the creation of these test sequence flow and test message are all performed by a tester in an existing test system, in the present test system, message information and sequence information are collected from an existing network and a test scenario/test message can be automatically created and edited on the basis of the collected information, thereby making it possible to easily create a test sequence flow and test message. Additionally, the collected message information and sequence information from an existing network allows easy creation of a test sequence flow and test message for any new protocol possibly appearing in the future, to say nothing of any of existing protocols.
In addition, the edit of a test scenario and message on the basis of data over an actual network can minimize a range created with manual intervention. As a result, reliability of test data is improved and a message is transmitted and received in accordance with purposes of a test, thereby allowing a faithful test.
Furthermore, since a wide variety of interfaces are provided, a plurality of opposite facilities under test can be simultaneously simulated, allowing a comprehensive network test.